Islamic Relief is rushing £1m worth of medicines to Gaza and appealing for funds as the latest conflict threatens to exacerbate chronic shortages of medical supplies in Gaza’s hospitals and health clinics.

Islamic Relief’s Hatem Shurrab is at the sharp end of the latest conflict in Gaza, where Islamic Relief is in the forefront of providing medical aid. It’s a scary place to be, he says – especially for children. And medical aid is urgently needed.

“My home is very near the main street in Gaza City and it’s almost empty, which is very unusual,” he explains. “Government buildings have been evacuated and the movement of people is very limited. Some parts of Gaza have no electricity and people have been panic buying bread and fuel because they don’t know how long this will last.

“Every few minutes there is a new explosion and we hear it or see the smoke. When there is an explosion I can hear the cries of children in neighbouring buildings. You can sense how scary the situation is for people.”